A-LEVELS 2020: 'Significant improvement' reported at King Edward VII Academy
Leaders of Lynn's King Edward VII Academy say they have recorded a third successive year of "significant improvement" in the A-level grades published today.
Officials say the proportion of higher grades at the school has increased.
And three of the cohort of 67 students have secured university places at Cambridge or Oxford.
Among them is Jacob Biran, who will receive the KES Gold Medal from the Queen at Sandringham in the new year after he achieved the school's highest grades this year.
He is now set to read medicine at Pembroke College, Cambridge, after achieving A* grades in Maths and Physics, plus As in Chemistry and Biology.
He said: “I am delighted to be receiving the Queen’s Gold Medal as its an award I have been determined to achieve since starting at KES seven years ago.
"I’ve wanted to be a doctor since I was very young and I’ve always wanted to go to Cambridge University.
"I would like to thank the whole sixth form team for helping me to achieve my goals.”
Aimee-Leigh Cousins was thrilled with her grades in English Literature, History and Maths, which are taking her to Magdalen College, Oxford, to study Classics.
She said: “When I opened my results I actually could not believe I had managed to get three As.
"I was absolutely over the moon, as it meant I had managed to make it to my first choice university."
And Matthew Bowen has won a place at Mansfield College, Oxford, where he will read Theology and Religion, after scoring A* grades in Religious Studies and History, plus an A in Economics.
He said: “I was really delighted upon opening my results. It had been a long, stressful five months since we left school because of the pandemic, so it was very difficult to imagine what grades I might be awarded."
Elsewhere, Katelyn Hall is making plans for life at Nottingham University, where she will study for a degree in social work, after achieving B grades in French, History and Psychology and her extended project.
She said: “I was so nervous to open the email with my results but as soon as I did I felt such a huge weight lifted off my shoulders.
"I am extremely happy with my results as I feel they are a true reflection of the amount of work I have put in over the past two years.”
And Lily Sharratt-Davidson, 18, can now prepare to swap West Norfolk for a Masters Physics course at Edinburgh University after achieving an A* in Maths, A in Physics, C in Chemistry, A* in her EPQ and a B in AS Further Maths.
She said: “I was incredibly happy when I received my results and found that I had the necessary grades for my chosen University course.
"Because of all the complications this year, I was really unsure of how these results might turn out."
Principal Sarah Hartshorn said: “The hard work of our students in Year 13, has produced the results that allow them to move on to the next stage of their education, or into the world of work.
"It has been a difficult year for the students and their families, and for the schools and communities they serve.
"The unprecedented response to the Covid-19 pandemic has forced us to take a different approach to producing the results for our students.
"We were pleased that members of staff, who know the young people best, were central to this process. Our destination data, historically, is well above national average, and based on current information we are looking at continuing this trend.
"With over 98 per cent of our students being able to move onto their chosen next stage in their journey. We hope to match and exceed the percentage achieving their first choice university.
"It has been a privilege to work with these students and we wish them well for the future and we hope that they add as much in their next adventure as they have over their period of time with us."
